It's like having 20 brothers around at all times, says RCB's massage therapist Navnita Gautam

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) became the first team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to appoint a woman in the support staff earlier this month. They announced the signing up of Navnita Gautam as the team’s massage therapist. She has been assigned the work to identify and implement massage therapy to help the team and recover better before and during the season.

Gautam will also be working with the team’s head physiotherapist Evan Speechly and Basu Shanker, RCB’s strength and conditioning coach. This is not the first stint for the Canada-based massage therapist. She has previously worked with Toronto Nationals in Global T20 Canada and was also with India Women’s Basketball team during the Asia Cup.

However, she is currently the first and only woman to be part of the support staff across the entire IPL. While speaking to ESPNCricinfo, when Navnita Gautam was asked if she had any apprehensions about the same, she said, “Absolutely not. It’s like having 20 brothers around at all times.”

If players and staff trust your work, gender shouldn’t be an issue, Navnita Gautam

Navnita Gautam though was hopeful that in times to come, more women will join as part of the support staff in other teams as well. She also went on to say that it is all about trust while working and gender doesn’t matter then. “Slowly but surely, the transition is happening. I believe that as long as the players and support staff trust your work, gender shouldn’t be an issue as we are all healthcare professionals working together as a team to get athletes back on the field,” she said.

RCB’s newly appointed member feels her time with the RCB will be fun and is excitingly looking forward to it. She was also elated while sharing her experience with the Toronto Nationals. “The experience with Toronto Nationals in the Global T20 league was above and beyond amazing.

“Thus, the transition to IPL should be a fun one. One of the challenges would be to understand every athlete’s body type/muscle quality and their likes and dislikes towards what type of treatment benefits them the most. Once I understand that I think it’ll be pretty smooth sailing from then onwards,” Gautam further added. Navnita Gautam will work with the RCB for the IPL 2020.